NEWSBYANNE FOSTER

Much has been said about the wholesale firing of teachers at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island, both in opposition and agreement. We have learned that only 50% of the students there graduate, and 7% are proficient in math. The superintendent hasn't been on the job very long, and her goal is to create a place where all kids can achieve. Seventy-seven teachers were fired, plus the principal, three assistant principals, and other administrators -- a total of 93. The firings came after the district and teachers' union failed to agree on a plan for teachers to increase their time with students to improve test scores.

I am sure that many people look at those statistics and agree with the firing of all the school's teachers. It seems reasonable at first glance. It seems ridiculous to keep teachers who are getting those results with their students.

A caveat to this firing is that some of these teachers may be hired back. That alone suggests that they may not have been a bunch of scoundrels. I'll be the first to say that sometimes, some teachers need to be fired. Some can't make it in the teaching profession, and others do specific things that they must be fired for. But to blame dismal results solely on teachers and fire all of them is naïve and may ultimately hurt public schools. Why couldn't the district and teachers' union reach an agreement on the issue and allow teachers to continue?

Teachers cannot succeed in a vacuum -- certainly not in a school challenged with this degree of poverty and mobility. The questions that need to be asked and answered are: What kinds of support and resources did these teachers have to do their job? Where was the central administration of the school district? Where were the community and parents?

Public schools in the United States continue to be governed by appointed or elected school boards – except in cases of takeovers and charter schools that report directly to states. But some seem to be asking if school boards are relevant in today’s world. Often there is no mention of them in national conversation about school reform. Other times, there is prominent mention of them in the headlines because of bad governing skills and just plain bad behavior. And yet school boards continue to set policy, to hire and fire superintendents, and to manage huge amounts of taxpayer money. Can we really afford to ignore them? How can we insure effective school boards?

For starters, public schools belong to the public. The public either elects their school board members or elects a Mayor who appoints them. Either way, school boards represent their communities in the oversight of their schools. In this way, the local school board remains the heart of the democratic process and possibly the purest form of public service. Local communities should continue to have the right to govern their own schools – to lose that would be to lose public support for public schools.

One thing for sure –when folks attend a high school reunion, it’s the one place where no one has to guess how old anyone else is. I recently attended my high school reunion, and it was more fun than I could have imagined! The icebreaker was walking up to someone and saying, “And who are you?” We never knew that we would ever not recognize people we spent twelve formative years with and whose features we knew so well.

This was the class of 1967, Kosciusko High School, in Mississippi. As we gathered and talked, I reflected a great deal about the public education we got there together. There were no accountability measures, state-mandated standards, or state assessments. There was nothing like No Child Left Behind legislation. We just went to school and got our education. And seeing my classmates and what they have done with their lives, it must not have been such a bad education at that. While I realize the many differences and challenges in American schools today and fully understand the accountability system, I see in our education some of the components that have become lost in today’s schools – and that parents very much want to get back.

Together we reflected on our education and our teachers …mostly smart, mostly women, and completely committed to our academic success. This was, after all, still the era in which women’s options for careers were limited. The teaching profession was a viable option that attracted the best and brightest women. One classmate referenced a teacher who allowed him to come back when he was in college and get help with his work. Even decades prior to NCLB, we got all of our basic skills, and most went on to higher levels. We studied history, the classics, English, geometry, trigonometry, French, and other subjects, and we had varied musical opportunities – both choirs and band. We did term papers and researched from encyclopedias and books – not search engines and the internet. In addition, we had a full array of other opportunities –athletic, extra-curricular, drama, and social.

It was the late 1950’s, and Richardson, Texas, was a shiny new suburb north of Dallas. The area was building up with nice single family homes, as well as desirable apartments. Hundreds of young, energetic families were moving in with jobs at nearby Texas Instruments. For many years, Dover reflected the school district – mostly white and fairly affluent.

That all began to change in the 1980’s, as federal laws changed that had allowed apartments to discriminate against families with children. Aging apartments began accepting more minority and immigrant families, many poor and without English skills. The influx of refuges and immigrants brought an era of new challenges, diminished community support, and lower performance as the school struggled with how to teach and succeed with the new students. Having originally opened with 300 students, the school eventually reached an enrollment of 600 children, speaking 29 different languages.  It didn’t take long for many families to either move from the area or withdraw their children and send them to other schools. Dover began to experience a certain stigma, as in “You don’t want to send your children to school there” or “That school has changed.”

But Dover didn’t give up.

Public school parents have a huge stake in their children’s education and therefore in the laws that govern the schools their children attend. As an engaged and concerned parent myself, I had the privilege of serving on my local school board in Richardson ISD (TX) from 1997-2006. 

It was the era of No Child Left Behind, following what was labeled the “Texas Miracle” –accountability based on state standards and a state-mandated test, followed by ratings for schools. Former Texas Governor and President George Bush took the Texas experience to Washington, D.C., and Congress authorized the NCLB Act in 2001. A new theme of accountability was ushered in, utilizing both federal and state measurements.

For local school boards, charged with implementing the new NCLB law, the water was murky and sometimes seemed to change to quicksand. Criticize the law, and you were tagged as not wanting to be accountable to the taxpayers for the money they invest in public education and for student learning. Defend the law, and you were accused of wanting to turn students into robots who could only take multiple choice tests as opposed to thinking critically and being creative thinkers and doers. Parents in my school district were mixed on the whole issue. They did not want schools to graduate robots, but they also strongly wanted the highest and best state and federal ratings for their schools. They wanted academic success as well as the prime real estate values that come from that success. 

Several other issues were stand-outs in the implementation of the NCLB law. For starters, it was another unfunded mandate from government. The requirements of the law called for the expenditure of more time, paperwork, record-keeping, and staff. And enter attorneys in order to interpret whether or not we were correctly following the law. Since the law did not come with the funds needed and promised, this became a huge issue in school district budgets.

The highly-qualified teacher portion of the law pitted younger teachers against veteran teachers, many of whom had to reprove their worthiness to teach –after years of having already proven it in the classroom. It wasn’t good for teacher morale. It would have been preferable to grandfather in those veteran teachers who had already proven their value over the years.

Another challenge was that the state and federal standards and assessments didn’t exactly fit like a glove. Schools that were at the highest state rating could fail to reach Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) at the federal level. Confusing to parents, community, and taxpayers? You bet, and the phone calls ensued to school boards, asking for an explanation. There was no explanation, other than the fact that state and national standards/measurements were in conflict.

But perhaps the biggest travesty of all involved the most challenged and vulnerable students in the school district – children with physical and mental disabilities – which in some cases included those who could not even sit up. Sure, there was a provision in the NCLB law that allowed districts to exclude a certain percentage of special education students. But it had no relation to the number of special education students in the district. As a result, some children had to take the test who should have never been required to. It was cruel and unusual punishment. And it should never have happened.

As we come to the time that the NCLB law can be revisited and changed to reflect the things we have learned, some questions bear asking. Education Secretary Duncan and Congress, are you listening? 

If Congress requires school districts to operate under NCLB, they should allocate the money to do it. It’s not fair for districts to have to use their basic budget when it’s needed to pay teacher salaries. And the law should clearly do nothing to alienate teachers –we have enough of a shortage without that.

State and federal standards and ratings should be reconciled and relieve the conflict between them. Otherwise, the public will have no confidence in either system.

We should all be for accountability. It doesn’t make sense to take taxpayers’ money and then not tell them the results. But we don’t have to graduate robots in order to be accountable, and someone needs to figure this out. Graduates of the 21st century need to be able to think critically and adapt to constant changes. They need more exposure to foreign languages and the arts. We must find appropriate ways to measure the attributes of the graduates we want.

And for goodness sakes, please figure out which students should not be required to take mandated tests. We do not have to test overly vulnerable children in order to show we’re doing the job.  We can certainly be accountable and show progress without resorting to what amounts to a traumatic experience for some children.

Is it too much to ask the law to live up to its worthy name?

Julie Owen is a public school parent in Jackson, MS and active with Ask for More Arts, a local school-community arts partnership advocating quality education for all children by integrating the arts into classroom teaching and learning.  Julie is also active in the Jackson chapter of Parents for Public Schools, which serves as the convening partner of Ask for More Arts.  Check out Julie's blog at Casey Arts.

From tiny white eggs found on the leaves of milkweed in a large pasture in Jackson, Mississippi, my family is rescuing and raising 6 monarch butterflies.  Now that some of the caterpillars are well on their eating and growing journey, it is our job to keep their containers clean, feed them from the stash of harvested milkweed leaves in our refrigerator, and release the butterflies into the world when they emerge from their chrysalises.  These caterpillars need our help because they are under threat from predatory insects such as fire ants.  Habitat loss is making the milkweed plant, the only plant that monarch caterpillars eat and on which they lay their eggs, harder to find.

Just as every monarch caterpillar needs milkweed to survive and transform into a monarch butterfly, all children in our nation need a quality education in order to become engaged, productive, creative, thoughtful, and innovative citizens in our communities. As parents and citizens, it is our duty to care for and nurture our nation’s children not only by providing for their basic needs but by supporting our teachers, public schools, policy makers, and governments in providing a quality education for all children regardless of economic status, race, or culture.  Our children and some of our nation’s public schools are under threat from inadequate funding and resources, dwindling or poor community support, and curriculums that do not meet the needs of children with diverse learning styles.

As a parent of children in public education and as an arts education advocate, I believe children in our nation’s public schools need curriculums rich in the arts to help them discover their unique gifts and open transformative possibilities.  Arts integrated learning works because children have unique ways in which they learn best and in which they may be challenged to grow.  A school that uses the arts to teach core academic subjects such as reading, writing, math, social studies, and science will reach more children to help them succeed because more styles of learning are nurtured and encouraged.

My daughter’s school has a bulletin board in the front entrance that explains to all visitors why it is an arts integration school.  Arts education makes learning fun and relevant to student’s lives.  Arts education contextualizes learning across disciplines.  Students who participate in the arts develop stronger interpersonal skills, encouraging empathy for others and increasing understanding of diversity.  The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.  The arts provide new challenges for students considered already successful and help build confidence in children who struggle with core curriculum areas but may be very talented in an arts area.  The arts enable children to have experiences they can have from no other source.

As an involved parent, I have seen children experience all of the above positive aspects of arts integrated learning and teaching.  My daughter has used drama and pantomime to explore concepts of place and community in social studies and history.  She has painted and collaged to learn and reinforce multiplication and fractions.  She has read and written poetry to learn about science, and she has developed writing skills through photography.  Through arts integrated instruction, she is receiving the tools, strategies, and experiences she needs to flourish, dream, imagine, question, and succeed.

As a parent and citizen of this country, I want all children to have an education that challenges, nurtures, encourages, and transforms.  All children deserve the opportunity to discover their talents, turn their weaknesses into abilities, and build upon their strengths.  Through arts integrated education, our nation’s public schools can become the chrysalises that will transform lives and give children the wings necessary for learning, achievement, and flight.

The New York Times ran an article on April 6, 2009, called "The Sudden Charm of Public School." The article details the panic of Manhattan families who have suddenly decided, given the economic times, that they may send their kids to public schools.  For families who planned on private school and didn't consider public school zones when they bought homes, they suddenly care very much which public school their kids might attend. Stating that it used to be a taboo in certain circles to even suggest you're interested in sending your kids to public schools, the article quotes one parent as saying, "Now it's actually kind of cool and in vogue." Oh, my ... what a difference a dollar and a day make. It reminds me of Barbara Mandrell's hit song years ago: "I was country ... when country wasn't cool."

The reality is that public schools have been cool for many people in the United States ever since our nation instituted the noble experiment of educating everyone.  Public schools educate approximately 90% of the kids in this country, so I would welcome these newly found converts and tell them that it never was necessary or even desirable to spend $33,000 a year on private school tuition. Save the money instead for college -you'll need it there, to be sure.

For many of us who sent our kids through public schools (a choice for some, a necessity for others), what we got in return are young adults who possess the full package. I saw my own children receive topnotch academics, a full array of extra-curricular activities, and a real appreciation of the vast and great diversity of America. They attended school with a wide variety of socio-economics, languages, and cultures. Today they function well in the workplace with anyone and everyone and have no expectation that everyone will be just like them. Neither are they threatened when folks are not like them. They just understand that people come from many different places and perspectives, and it's possible to relate to them and find the things they have in common. Kids who attend diverse public schools end up with an understanding that serves them well as citizens, as we all strive for a society that includes everyone and offers everyone a chance to achieve.

I believe that a child's education is the unique and personal decision of parents, so this is not about berating anyone who ever sent or planned to send their kids to private schools. But if you're considering joining the arena of public school parents, we're glad to have you and think you'll like what you find. Sure, there are some failing schools that need attention and fixing, but the great majority of public schools are performing well - a fact that people often lose sight of.

There are some things to look for as you choose your child's school. It's good to go and visit schools. Look around and observe the environment. See if you feel welcome in the school. Successful schools welcome parent engagement and know that it's a huge factor in whether or not they will be successful at educating students. Find out if a school is effectively serving all of the students there, not just some. Ask about special programs offered which your child might need at some point. Visit a school board meeting and see how the school district is governed. Look around and see if the community around the school supports that school and understands that it should.

So while I understand that this will be a huge step for many parents who never planned to send their kids to public schools, I think you will be amazed at the richness of the experience. I know that you will better understand the challenges of American public schools and how well many of them are meeting those challenges.  Your presence and interest will contribute quality not only to your own child's education but to the education of all children. And together, we will be a stronger nation.

Public schools...where all are welcome, the price is right, and the American dream lives on.

Parents for Public Schools works to bring parents into an advocacy position concerning their children's education. Nationwide research such as the Henderson/Mapp report supports what we have known for many years: that children and schools improve when parents are more involved at all levels. Parents for Public Schools has launched a statewide program in Mississippi called Schoolhouse to Statehouse. We are building a powerful parent organization that engages participants and partners with other local, regional, and statewide organizations around systemic educational issues that impact student performance. Several parent coordinators work around the state, often with very vulnerable Mississippi families and schools. Local, grassroots advocacy is done by PPS, and statewide Legislative advocacy is done by The Parents Campaign.

One of our coordinators, Victoria Peters, tells her story here. This is not a story about teachers who don't want to teach kids. My experience with teachers is that the great majority of them enter teaching precisely because they do want to teach kids, each and every one. But her story illustrates the need to train parents to have a voice in their children's education. Many parents have never had anyone explain how schools work and what their rights are in their children's schools.

There are many other "Victorias" out there, and we hope that our work lifts them up, allows them find their voice, and helps to provide better educational opportunities for their children and for all children.

Here's what Victoria has to say:

When my son was in first or second grade we were experiencing long hours of homework and review. My husband and I thought that he had a learning disability because he didn't seem to be getting it all. He had great reading and comprehension skills for his grade level, but we couldn't figure out what was going on. So, we kept trying to fix it by working with him each night. The last thing that I wanted to do was to accuse the teacher of anything.

I worked in a neighboring school district; I had witnessed so many parents who would literally curse out the teachers, yell at them, etc. Usually, they never considered that the problem could have been their child. Having this experience, I never really considered that it was a teacher issue.

Finally, I contacted the teacher, and she said that my son was very quiet, and recommended that he be tested for a learning disability. I told her very calmly that I knew that he didn't have a learning disability. To prove it, we had him tested. He did not have a learning disability. The meeting did not yield the kind of results that truly addressed our situation. This particular evening, my husband and I sat our son down to ask again...what is the problem? He then told us that he didn't want to ask questions because white people were smarter than black people. We asked him where he got that. He said from the other children in his class. We coached him to understand that being smart had nothing to do with the color of his skin.

Then, I scheduled a second meeting. This time the teacher's response was that she just couldn't teach black kids. I was shocked because I couldn't believe what she had just said. I left the meeting and went directly to the principal. I can remember that the principal truly listened. I do not remember what was communicated to the teacher by the principal. The principal knew where I worked at the time, and apologized to me that this was not a reflection of the district.

I felt very powerless as a parent at that time. I didn't know what my rights were. Here are some questions I struggled with:

• Should I contact the NAACP? I didn't know what to do, but something more needed to be done.
• There would be more African-American students who would come through this lady's class. Would they be discriminated against because of the color of their skin? I didn't know my rights. I didn't know other parents who may have experienced this same thing.

As a result of feeling powerless, we eventually took our son out of the public schools, and we home-schooled him for two years. Eventually, we put him back in to try it again.Today, I know more than I ever have as it relates to public education. Now, I know that I am an owner in public schools. Through Parents for Public Schools, I have developed leadership skills and knowledge of how public schools work; how to partner with my local school district and effectively be engaged to impact student achievement and improve public education. For every parent who feels powerless, my mission is to give you the tools and resources to effectively partner with your school district. Don't quit. You have a voice; your voice can be facilitated in a way that improves your school district and all the students who attend.

[Anne Foster of Parents for Public Schools adds another Parent Voice with this post. See Anne's bio below, and welcome aboard, Anne. - Eds.]

"High student achievement in diverse public school settings is taking place in many school districts across the nation, and we should take note and see how they are doing it. One of the measures of success is how well a school district brings a diverse group of parents into partnership with the schools."

It was a cold, cloudy, February morning in Portland, Oregon, as about 250 parents from Portland Public Schools gathered at daVinci Middle School (which has an art focus) for the annual Parent Leadership Conference sponsored by Community and Parents for Public Schools of Portland.

It's a given that each of these parents could have found other things to do with their weekend, but it's good news for Portland Public Schools and students that these parents chose to come and learn how to be strong advocates for their children's education. The parents were a very diverse group, and some conferences were translated into Spanish and Somali. Workshops included Understanding the US Educational System; Parent Involvement at Your School; and How To Help Your Student Become Successful. The crowd was relaxed and seemed comfortable with its diversity. Conversations were flowing over coffee and danish, and lunch was shared at the end.

Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith and other community leaders attended and took questions from the parents. Questions were sincere and targeted to the quality of public education being offered in Portland. Superintendent Smith seemed anxious to relate to the parents and to answer their questions. A parent asked how the district is addressing the need for the recruitment and development of a diverse staff. The superintendent explained the district's recruiting plan as well as its work to increase the depth of cultural knowledge as a school district.

Another question centered on how the district is communicating with families who do not have computer access. District staff explained that they are actively working with this situation, by including hard copies of communications pieces that are distributed through local schools, even as they communicate with some families via computer.

Such are the issues that schools in the United States must address as our population becomes ever more diverse. There are many issues that parents care about.

These parents and their concerns reminded me of those I encountered as an elected school board member in Richardson (Texas) ISD. That district was once largely homogeneous but today has students who represent over 100 native languages. Like Portland, Richardson is a community where public education is highly regarded and supported, and where schools are finding ways to be successful with all students. High student achievement in diverse public school settings is taking place in many school districts across the nation, and we should take note and see how they are doing it. One of the measures of success is how well a school district brings a diverse group of parents into partnership with the schools.

As a school board member, I sometimes had parents approach me about not wanting their children to go to a certain school where "those parents don't love their children." I was always grateful for the opportunity to assure them that I had met many parents but never one whom I felt did not love their children. They might be from another culture, they might not speak English, they might be poor, and they might not know how to navigate their children's education. All of those issues are completely separate and different from loving their children. In fact, I found that they loved their children very much and wanted to be part of their educational process. They needed to be welcomed and shown how to do that.

Schools benefit when parents are engaged and knowledgeable about how to partner with schools for the success of their children's education. Public schools belong to everyone, but parents have an urgent need to see schools succeed. They can't wait for a better school or a bond election to pass or an improved curriculum. They're on a time frame with their kids, and the window is finite. A quality education assures their children of better opportunities and a better life.

Our public schools should seek ways to engage parents to become knowledgeable and actively involved in their children's schools. Schools can't have too many partners today to do a job that is increasingly complex and difficult. Parents should be among the key partners in schools and should be involved in decisions that affect their children. Savvy school districts such as Portland and Richardson already recognize this and will continue to enjoy success because of it. Are others watching?

Anne Foster is Executive Director of Parents for Public Schools, a national organization of community based chapters working with public school parents and other supporters to improve and strengthen local schools.